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HOME AND COUNTRY NOTABLE FIGURES IN INSTITUTE HISTORY in. Erlnnd Lee on opcrnlcd with Mrs. Adelaide Simone: Township, \veiiuranh County, on February 19m, ladies in iorinulslmg me Constitution and Bylaws. Mrs. a. men‘s Insiituie. Dr. Creelman's Letter i- quote from a letter sent out by Creelman at the time: “What i iners' Institutes have done for the i ners and. farms, Women‘s Insti- ' .\ can do for the homes. In ‘ :irio we have been so busy clean- i up land and growing out of the l cabin period that we have had i iu time to attend to the develop- vt of the beautiful about our i HESâ€"Homes become an experience < be culture of their inhabitants and, l .icli a sermon to the passer-byâ€" l ‘1“ such homes (cultured and beau- i ii) the boys do not rush away and i wsc some other profession in life; i rls do not yearn for the st- ! .rtions of the towns and cities". ‘We have now a number of estim- i r lady delegates on our stafi, and ‘ it services may be secured at any to assist any proposed institute anizing or in carrying out any cal schemes of the organiza- ‘his same 1899 Superintendent’s l‘ iort records the organization of " second Institute thus: "Al: Whith Ii the 29th'of ‘June (1899) a meeting *‘ the ladies of South Ontario was vi iiVCned by Mrs. J. L. Smith for the Purpose of organizing a Women’s In- Lute. A partial organization was ‘ted. A short time later another (mg was called, oflicers elected the Women's Institute of South .itario launched". Miss Laura Rose h'lpetl organize this Institute. Hem, also, it is recorded that the “ Dl'ne'n’s Institute of North Grey was ('{Lranized at Kernble on September loll-i, 1900, _ , , Hence wagsee that the Institute idea had taken firm root and was to 870‘? and branch out into much wider territories Ithan‘ th first Institute \vurkers ev con lated., 1397. Hoodlas in planning for wanting at which (he first W ssnaior Smith niid Major Carpenter. along with D, Smi|li, Mill Nash and Mrs. J. nmcn's Institute was (armed at Stony Oracle Mr. Len nasisiud (ha Commiuoo or H. McNeiiiy were the am Elfin-rs oi lhe swney Crock We Dr. Creelman years later (1915) while reminiscing about the early days stated, “I began to see there was something more in the Women's Institute than we saw when we started out, and I began to see that when the women of the country start to move, we have to make way be- cause they are going to move solidly forward in the direction in which their consciences lend them”. Across Canada and Beyond the Seas With its primary aims of improv- ing farm home conditions and afford- ing opportunities for the wives of farmers to meet together for fellow- ship and study, the new organization met a Very real need in Canadian rural life. By 1915 Women's Insti- tutes were established in all nine Canadian provinces. In England, the outbreak of die war 1914-1918 created a need for a com- bined effort among country _Women, particularly in connection With the production and preservation of food. Two Canadian women, Miss Emil Guest of Ontario and Mrs.. Alire Watt of Ontario and 13.0., in .Eng- land at the time and both enthusiastid Women‘s Institute workers, were asked by the British Government to aid in a campaign for food conserva- tion. The Government was soon con- vinced that the best way to do this was through organmng Women's In- stitutes. From a speech delivered by W. Roadhouse, Deputy Minister of Agri. culture at Toronto convention 1915 we quote: "There csm'e to the ofiics an enquiry from London, England_as to the nature of the Women’s Institutes, their method of organization and their method of work. This enquiry came from one of the roost roun- ncnt organizations infGreot rit‘fiifi; e in the names 0 persons :rflegders in the public life of that country. This will possibly result in the organization of Institutes in the British Isles.” Help was sent from Ontario. So the Institute idea spread to Great Britain. Premier Baldwin while touring Canada paid the following tribute: “One of the greatest contributions Canada has ever made to England was the Women’s Institutes, and We cannot bl: too grateful to you for giving us the idea. These Institutes have brought new interest. fresh life, activity and happiness into hundreds of our villages. They have given a stimulus to education and many forms of cooperation which I hope to see extended everywhere." Rural women in other countries also became interested in our organi- zation. The circle widened and Women’s Institutes spread to New Zealand, Australia, Africa, Rhodesia, Ceylon, India, Belgium and Holland. Sister organizations sprung up among countrywomen in other coun- tries and in 1933 there was organized the Associated Country Women of the World with a Canadian woman. Mrs. Alfred Watt, as its first and only President. Pages of History are Turned Back We Meet to Honour Our Mother Institute Stoney Creek Over two hundred guests, including charter members and past presidents of the world's first Women's Institute, turned back the pages of history at the 50th anniversary banquet of the Stoney Creek Women's Institute, held in the United Church of that historic Went-worth County village on Wed- nesday, February 19, 1947 and took part in a review of all that had been accomplished during the half cen- tury of regress 0 what is now a world-wi e organization of rural women. It was a banquet which aboumlml in unique features. Eleven of the charter members of the first Institute, organized on the same date in 1597. were present as honoured guests. Seven past presidents re- called the chief events oi their years in olfice. A representative of the Women‘s Intstitugesb of Great Britain was presen on rou ht eetin . The birthday cake, wosgudogired wish five candles, one for cnch decade and these were lit by the oldest surviving past president, Mrs. Hamilton Lee. Ami the guest speaker for the oc- casion was Mrs. Gordon D. Conant, daughter of the first president of the world's first Institute, Mrs. E. D. Smith. A portrait of Mrs. E. D. Smith occu ied a rominent place gbove the fa Ie for SIG charter mem- ers. The beautiful flowers in the In- stitute colours of blue and gold, the fine music and the friendly atmosA phere of members rind friends set the stage for this festive celebration. 'The Institute had been showered With letters, telegrams and greeting cards which were used very ingen- rously as wall decorations. In all, 2,179 such. messages were received, from practically every country in the world in which there are Women’s In- stitutes today, and a selection from these was read to the audience by the secretary, Mrs. Lyle Nash. Individual pieces of the birthday cake. made by Mrs. Chester Nash, Were attractively wrapped in cello- Ehane and sealed with a gold seal rearll'lg' the Institute crest and the inscription “The Mother of Institutes â€"Stoney Creek”. Mrs. Angus Jackson, President of the Stoney Creek Institute presided over the gathering. (Continued on page 4 column 1)